UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS  BULLETIN 

VOL.  VII  OCTOBER  10,  1909  NO.  6 

Entered  Feb.  14, 1902,  at  Urbana,  111.,  as  second  class  matter,  under  act  of  Con- 
gress of  July  16, 1894 

PROGRAM 

of  the  Exercises  at 

THE  DEDICATION 

of  the 

LABORATORY  OF  PHYSICS 

November  26,  1909 

With  a Description  of  the  Building 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


https://archive.org/details/programofexercis00univ_1 


LABORATORY  OF  PHYSICS 


e 

Te^L^ 

PROGRAM 


FRIDAY,  November  26,  1909. 

2 p.  m.  Physics  Lecture  Room,  President  James 
Presiding. 

Presentation  of  Building  with  Address  by 
the  Honorable  Charles  S.  Deneen, 
Governor  of  Illinois. 

Acceptance  by  the  Honorable  William  L. 
Abbott, 

President  of  Board  of  Trustees. 

Charge  to  the  Department  of  Physics  by 
President  Edmund  J.  James. 

Response  by  Albert  P.  Carman,  Professor  of 
Physics. 

Address,  “The  Administration  of  a Depart- 
ment of  Physics”  by  President  Henry  S. 
Pritchett  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation  for 
the  Advancement  of  Teaching. 

4 p.  m. 


Inspection  of  the  Building. 


FRIDAY,  November  2(3,  1909. 


8 p.  m.  Physics  Lecture  Room,  Dean  W.  F.  M.  Goss 

Presiding. 

The  American  Physical  Society  and  the 
Illinois  Academy  of  Science,  special 
guests  at  this  meeting. 

Address  in  behalf  of  Graduate  Work  by 
Prof.  David  Kinley,  Dean  of  the  Gradu- 
ate School. 

Address,  “Scientific  Faith  and  Works”  by 
Prof.  Arthur  G.  Webster  of  Clark  Uni- 
versity, Past-President  of  the  American 
Physical  Society. 

An  informal  social  gathering  for  guests  at 
the  University  Club  after  the  addresses. 

SATURDAY,  November  27,  1909, 

9 a.  m.  Physics  Lecture  Room,  Prof.  Henry  Crew, 

President  of  the  American  Physical  So- 
ciety Presiding. 

Regular  scientific  meeting  of  the  American 
Physical  Society. 

12:30  p.  m.  Luncheon  for  guests  at  University  Club. 


PROFESSOR  A.  G.  WEBSTER’S  LECTURES. 
November  29  to  December  1. 


PUBLIC  LECTURES 


Monday,  7 :30  p.  m.  “Great  Physical  Problems  of  the 
Past,  Present  and  Future.” 

With  Sigma  Xi  as  special  guests. 

Tuesday,  7 :30  p.  m.  “Sound  and  Its  Measurement.” 

Wednesday,  4 p.  m.  “The  Gyroscope  and  Its  Practical 
Applications.” 

SPECIAL  LECTURES. 

(For  students  in  Physics  and  Mathematics,  and  others 
interested). 


Monday  10  a.  m.  “Classification  of  Mathematical  Phys- 
ics with  reference  to  Mathematics.” 


Tuesday,  10  a.  m.  “Waves,  Ether  and  Relativity.” 


# 


DESCRIPTION  OF  BUILDING 

The  Laboratory  of  Physics  was  built  and  equipped 
with  an  appropriation  of  $250,000  voted  by  the  Illinois 
Legislature  in  May,  1907.  The  design  of  the  building 
was  made  by  Mr.  W.  Carbys  Zimmerman,  State  Archi- 
tect, under  directions  from  the  Department  of  Physics, 
and  the  Supervising  Architect  of  the  University.  Con- 
struction was  begun  in  August,  1908,  and  the  building 
completed  in  November,  1909.  V.  Jobst  & Sons  were 
the  general  contractors. 

The  building  is  178  feet  long  and  125  feet  deep  in  the 
wings.  It  has  three  full  stories,  a cemented  basement,  a 
high  attic  fully  finished,  and  a one -story  annex  70  by  28 
feet,  containing  the  shop  and  fan  rooms.  To  insure  stabil- 
ity, the  outside  walls  are  made  extra  heavy,  with  numer- 
ous interior  cross  walls  of  brick.  The  floors  and  roof  are 
of  reinforced  concrete  construction,  and  all  partitions 
are  of  tile  or  brick,  thus  rendering  the  building  fireproof. 
Vibrations  are  minimized  by  placing  shop  machinery 
and  ventilating  fans  in  the  annex  separate  from  the 
main  structure.  The  heating  of  the  main  part  of  the 
building  is  by  direct  radiation  with  automatic  control, 
and  is  supplemented  for  ventilation  by  tempered  air  dis- 
tributed by  fans.  Steam  is  brought  from  the  University 
boiler  house.  The  lecture  rooms  are  heated  wholly  by 
hot  air  distributed  by  fans. 

Linoleum  covers  the  floor  of  the  corridors,  except 
for  the  hard  wood  margin,  so  that  noise  is  lessened,  and 
cleaning  made  easier.  Cleaning  is  done  by  the  vacuum 
cleaning  system  so  as  to  decrease  dust. 


5 


The  laboratory  is  designed  to  provide  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  large  classes  in  important  undergraduate  courses 
and  also  for  the  work  of  advanced  students  both  as  to 
instruction  and  investigation.  It  is  desirable  that  the 
advanced  work  be  removed  from  the  noise  and  confusion 
caused  by  the  large  classes  of  undergraduates.  For  this 


LABORATORY  OF  PHYSICS  — FIRST  FLOOR 


reason  the  recitation  rooms  and  large  laboratories  are 
confined  to  the  west  wing  of  the  building,  thus  leaving 
the  east  wing  free  for  the  advanced  work.  The  floor 
plans  show  this  arrangement. 

Two  features  in  the  general  design  of  the  building 
have  received  special  study, — namely,  the  facilities  for 


6 


storing  apparatus  and  the  situation  of  the  large  lecture 
rooms.  A commodious  tier  of  stacks,  similar  to  library 
stacks,  is  located  in  the  center  of  the  building  and 
equipped  with  cases  for  storing  apparatus.  The  appa- 
ratus shelves  are  2 1-2  feet  wide  and  have  an  estimated 
total  length  of  1200  feet.  An  elevator  running  through 
these  stacks  allows  apparatus  to  be  moved  easily  to  any 
part  of  the  building.  The  elevator  is  of  the  direct  lift 
plunger  type,  thus  securing  safety,  and  also  doing  away 
with  rotating  power  machinery.  It  runs  from  the  un- 
packing room  in  the  basement  to  the  attic  floor,  with 
landings  on  the  main  corridor  of  each  floor,  and  also  on 
all  floors  and  mazzanine  floors  of  the  apparatus  stacks 
Heavy  rubber  tired  trucks  are  used  in  transferring  ap- 
paratus by  the  elevator. 

The  general  lecture  rooms  are  on  the  ground  floor  be- 
tween the  wings  of  the  building  and  are  one  and  one- 
half  stories  high.  Light  comes  wholly  from  overhead, 
so  that  the  rooms  may  be  darkened  by  horizontal  cur- 
tains operated  by  water  power  from  the  lecture  room 
desk.  Heating  and  ventilation  are  cared  for  by  a sys- 
tem of  hot  air  operated  by  a ventilating  fan, — this  fan 
with  its  ducts  being  entirely  separate  from  the  fan  and 
ducts  for  the  rest  of  the  building. 

Both  lecture  rooms  are  connected  with  the  prepara- 
tion room,  and  the  latter  in  turn  with  the  apparatus 
stacks.  The  lecture  rooms  are  designed  to  hold  262  and 
11*5  students,  respectively. 

The  Electrical  Measurement  Laboratory  is  completely 
equipped  to  care  for  work  in  electricity  and  magnetism. 
Direct  and  alternating  currents  of  different  ranges 
find  outlets  in  this  room.  The  equipment  includes  a large 


7 


selection  of  Hartmann  and  Braun’s  best  grade  resistance 
boxes,  Wolff,  Hartmann,  and  Crompton  potentiometers, 
about  50  galvanometers  of  different  sensibilities  and 
types,  certificated  condensers,  etc.,  etc.  Stability  is  se- 
cured by  six  large  piers  built  up  from  the  ground  and 
separated  from  the  floor  of  the  laboratory.  Heavy  ma- 
ple wall  benches  also  furnish  suitable  supports  for  deli- 
cate apparatus. 

Two  shops  are  on  the  first  floor.  The  mechanician’s 
shop  is  in  the  annex  and  is  a room  52  by  25  feet  in  size, 
lighted  from  the  north.  The  shop  is  provided  with  a 
Browne  and  Sharp  milling  machine,  Hendey-Norton 
lathe,  drill  press,  etc.,  driven  from  shafting  by  an  electric 
motor.  There  is  also  a complete  outfit  of  bench  tools. 

The  students’  shop  is  for  the  use  of  advanced  stu- 
dents and  instructors.  It  is  supplied  with  lathes,  bench 
tools,  etc.  The  floor  of  this  shop  is  a large,  reinforced 
concrete  slab,  floated  on  a sand  and  gravel  foundation. 
It  is  thus  separated  from  the  walls  of  the  building,  so 
that  vibrations  of  the  machinery  may  not  be  communi- 
cated to  the  research  rooms. 

The  second  floor  accommodates  the  laboratory  in 
general  physics  for  students  in  the  sciences  and  arts. 
The  heat  laboratory,  which  is  on  this  floor,  is  equipped 
with  apparatus  and  facilities  to  care  for  the  demand  for 
measurements  of  high  and  low  temperatures.  This  ap- 
paratus includes  pyrometers,  furnaces,  and  a set  of 
thermometers  of  various  ranges  calibrated  at  the 
Reichsanstalt.  Provision  is  also  made  to  care  for 
the  usual  experiments  that  present  themselves  in  ad- 
vanced heat  courses. 


8 


Each  research  laboratory  is  provided  with  water, 
gas  and  electric  current.  Compressed  air  and 
time  circuits  are  also  available  in  several  rooms  on 
each  floor.  Heavy  wall  benches  are  placed  in  all  rooms, 
and  a geuerous  supply  of  piers  is  found  on  the  first 
floor  rooms.  The  time  circuit  is  furnished  by  a stand- 
ard Riefler  astronomical  clock  in  the  constant  tempera- 
ture room.  Chemical  rooms  are  found  on  each  floor, 
and  are  to  be  equipped  with  hood,  chemicals  and  facili- 
ties for  glass  blowing.  Dark  rooms  are  conveniently 
placed  for  photographic  work.  A balance  room  on  the 
second  floor  is  equipped  with  a selected  set  of 
balances.  Liquid  air  is  made  from  a plant  in  the  an- 
nex. High  temperatures  are  secured  by  special  fur- 
naces. The  department  is  equipped  with  power  vacuum 
pumps  of  several  kinds.  Provision  has  been  made  to 
care  for  the  demands  of  as  wide  a range  of  research  work 
as  can  be  anticipated.  A storage  battery  of  80  cells  of 
320  ampere-hours  capacity  has  been  received  and  will  be 
installed  in  addition  to  an  older  battery  of  40  cells.  A 
large  choice  of  currents  will  be  secured  by  the  installa- 
tion of  these  storage  batteries,  together  with  a motor 
generator  set,  and  the  usual  lighting  circuits.  The  main 
switchboard  is  12.5  x 6 feet  in  size.  It  is  for  the  experi- 
mental circuits,  and  is  entirely  separate  from  the  light- 
ing and  power  circuits.  It  is  designed  so  that  any  current 
is  available  in  any  laboratory  or  research  room  in 
the  building.  Every  laboratory  is  connected  with 
this  switchboard  by  at  least  two  independent  circuits 
of  ample  carrying  capacity. 

The  department  is  fortunate  in  its  equipment.  Gen- 
erous appropriations  for  a number  of  years  have  been 


9 


used  to  purchase  apparatus  that  has  been  needed  in  ele- 
mentary laboratory  courses  and  in  the  advanced  work 
that  has  been  in  progress,  and  only  a small  amount  of 
the  apparatus  is  antiquated.  Experience  has  shown 
that  new  investigations  can  usually  be  started  with  ap- 
paratus already  on  hand.  Large  additions  to  the  present 
equipment  will  be  made  during  the  next  year  from  funds 
now  available. 

The  Library  room  is  19  x 27  feet,  and  is  finely  lighted 
by  south  windows.  Book -cases  built  around  the  walls 
contain  sets  of  the  leading  journals  of  physics  for  twenty 
years  back.  There  are  found  also  reference  books  in 


10 


physics,  mathematics,  and  chemistry;  and  general  en- 
cyclopaedias and  dictionaries.  Separate  steam  connec- 
tions allow  this  room  to  be  warmed  when  the  heat  is  cut 
off  from  the  rest  of  the  building.  A fireplace  adds  to 
the  comfort  of  the  room  on  dull  days. 

In  accordance  with  the  general  plan  the  east  wing 
of  the  third  floor  is  used  for  research  work.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  small  laboratories,  there  is  found  the  special 
laboratory  for  work  in  sound  and  light.  Provision  is  to 
be  made  so  that  the  sunlight  may  be  reflected  from  the 
front  of  the  building  (south  exposure)  through  the  small 
lecture  room  and  corridor  to  the  light  laboratory.  This 
laboratory  is  also  adapted  for  investigations  in  acoustics. 

A small  lecture  room  seating  sixty  people  is  located 
in  this  wing.  This  is  to  be  used  for  such  lectures  in 
advanced  courses  as  require  apparatus  set  up  for  some 
time. 


11 


The  west  wing  of  the  third  floor  is  used  for  under- 
graduate courses.  A large  laboratory  for  work  in  gen- 
eral physics  is  located  in  this  wing,  and  has  a separate 
equipment  of  apparatus  and  facilities.  Owing  to  the 
large  number  of  students  working  in  this  laboratory,  it 
has  been  necessary  to  duplicate  many  times  the  original 
equipment. 

The  fourth  floor,  because  of  its  excellent  facilities 
for  getting  light,  is  used  mainly  for  work  in  photography 
and  optics.  The  room  at  the  west  end,  because  of  its 
large  volume  and  great  length,  is  especially  suited  for 
investigations  in  sound.  The  room  at  the  opposite  end 
is  designed  for  work  in  light.  Sunlight  is  brought  into 
this  room  through  the  grating  room  and  corridor. 


LABORATORY  OF  PHYSICS — FOURTH  FLOOR 


